Ntq206

Done

First ski of the year in today. Water temp 41 deg. Air 52. It was also my first ever set on my new (to me) Strada. WOW - I Immediately felt comfortable on it. Good things are gonna happen this year. Too bad I got tired so early though.....

@Brent - I've seen that video too, but it looks like they had the hydrogate down. Quite honestly it's much better than you'd expect - it surprised me because I've been behind DD's that had worse wakes at -15. @TNh2oskier - at -15 25 and 28MPH the wakes start to get more challenging - but that's not exclusive to this particular 20' boat - out of all the boats I get to be dragged behind only the smallest slalom boats seem to be better at slower speeds longline. The old MC190 and SN196 are the ones I think maintain decent wakes at longline from my own personal experience. Now, let me say also that I'm far far from being any expert - I'm a newb skier spending all my time at -15 off, but these are my personal experiences for whatever it's worth.

@TNh2oskier - I've got the 206 and have skied the SN196, MC197, MC205, 200 Sport and many other boats that are at the lake I ski on. (196 is the runaway winner for slalom and MC205 the runaway most brutal IMHO) I've got a family that likes to spend days on the lake (usually with friends along too). We ended up going with the 206 because a 196 is just way to small for a whole family (+ friends) although from a pure ski perspective it's REALLY hard to top the 196. The 206 has open bow (which family loves) and is a nice slalom boat. I'm a longline skiier, and the longline wake is not a 196 wake. no question. Friends ski short line and 28 and in it's very very close to the 196. 197 is decent, but I'd recommend comparing both closely in person on and off the water and forming your own opinion.

The Ski Community Shortline

One legged squats (aka 'pistols') are REALLY good for any physical activity involving legs and balance. They are particularly good because they remove the dominant leg from the equation entirely and develop the balance muscles and coordination. Work your way up (they are hard) - you will feel all your stabilizers sore the next day too.

For us, we have an open bow Natique 206. Awesome for the family - more room than the 196 - doesn't sound like much but feels like there is a ton more room inside. Slalom wakes 28 and shorter are very good and 32 shorter very similar the 196. Longline not near as good as 196. Quite a difference at longline. Don't get the dislike for the open bow for a family rec boat. We don't drive with kids up front, BUT when we park and float, the kids (and adults) really like hanging out in the bow. We do a lot of that and really opens up some usable space to spread out.

As a newcomer to the sport, I will weigh in a bit here and add my .02; This is a very hardcore ski forum (great work John BTW) - and certainly brings some very skilled competitive skiers out of the woodwork. Having said that, keep in mind that there is a whole other vast group out there who do not compete, and will never compete. ZO may only a barrier for those who wish to compete in tournaments as far as I can see. For myself, I only compete with myself. For an intermediate skier, the limiting factor to progressing has far more to do with the dude strapped to the ski. PP is perfectly fine for what I do. This sport is still relatively inaccessible comparatively speaking - I got into this sport by pure accident almost. IMHO, growing this sport has more to do with exposure, image and accessibility than a ZO boat.

As a newcomer to the sport, I will weigh in a bit here and add my .02; This is a very hardcore ski forum (great work John BTW) - and certainly brings some very skilled competitive skiers out of the woodwork. Having said that, keep in mind that there is a whole other vast group out there who do not compete, and will never compete. ZO may only a barrier for those who wish to compete in tournaments as far as I can see. For myself, I only compete with myself. For an intermediate skier, the limiting factor to progressing has far more to do with the dude strapped to the ski. PP is perfectly fine for what I do. This sport is still relatively inaccessible comparatively speaking - I got into this sport by pure accident almost. IMHO, growing this sport has more to do with exposure, image and accessibility than a ZO boat.

As a 15 off skier, I started thinking "stack" every time I went to load the line (actually yelled it to myself) and there is no question it immediately helped me. The thing is, as Shane noted above - I can do this so much better on pull outs in either direction, but can't do it as well behInd the boat - especially right behind the boat. Question is - why? Is it just mental?

One of the best things I ever did in my years of weight training was to switch to free weights for all presses. Esp. shoulder presses. (BTW, NEVER use barbells for shoulder presses unless you want permanent shoulder damage.....) Free weights really develop the balance muscles and overall core strength. These balance muscle development makes a BIG difference in all sporting activities outside of weight training. It's more than just balance strength - it trains the mind to coordinate that balance with heavy loads. In addition, free weights allow for the natural rotation of joints through your range of motion. After several years, these things make a huge overall difference. My .2

I agree with this. I think it's important to recognize that this sport could attract many additions without even looking at a slalom course. Competitive slalom interest on tucked away private lakes is too much too expect initially. Its going to come in the form of public lake free-skiing. The course will be a natural evolution from that point. I'm on this path right now. With enough volume of people going through the above, getting courses on public lakes will slowly become easier. I believe this sport needs a big image facelift. Like it or not, it's perceived as a middle-age person sport done at off-times. I do think with the right focus from the marketing groups of the ski manufacturers, waterski associations and boat manufacturers (yes), that the image can be re-drawn to draw in the attention and interest from the young crowd. The fact of the matter in reality is that this is a REALLY, REALLY COOL sport, and it needs to put it's young guns out in the forefront and market that angle like crazy. That's where it needs to be seeded now.

As a newcomer to this great sport, I can offer some first hand perspective of why I think there seems to be limited growth: Exposure. Let's face it, most people (like me) are typically exposed to public waters. What we see happening on these waters directly influences what others tend to take up on the water, especially those new to boating or lake lifestyle. We have spent the last several years on open water, initially with an I/O boat. 99.9% of what "I" saw during these times were surfing, tubing and wakeboarding. It wasn't until several years later hanging around the lake, at 7AM while walking about with my coffee, some very new friends asked me to come and spot them while they skied. Sure, no problem. Turns out that he is quite an accomplished shortline skier (now I recognize that). When I saw that from the boat for the very first time, the light went on, and realized how cool it was and that I'd like to do it also. I was a convert from that point forward. Now, here in lies the issue - MOST people simply aren't up and running around in boats at 7AM unless your a diehard skier or fisherman. That's when the good water is on public water. After the wee hours in the morning, it's gone and the lake is a boating zoo. The young crowd has NO INTEREST in getting out on the water at 7AM unless they are already hooked on a sport that demands it - so they more often than not don't get to experience it from the boat. So so many people never even get to see a slalom skier - just due to when and where it happens. I think this sport for public exposure on public water is limited simply due to the harsh constraints (for public lakes) required to do it: no wind & no boat chop. I HONESTLY believe that if the younger generation simply had more direct exposure to it, this sport would attract a lot of newcomers. My .02 perspective.

Strada.

"Nah, this ain't workin........ I think we need to put the extra weight in the BOAT for these here new wakeboards..."

Thanks your input everyone. I just want to make sure the 66 wouldn't be too little surface area for the course at 26-28 @ 160 lbs. Freeskiing, I really enjoy 32 though and can see the 66 is perfect size for that, albeit a whole lotta ski for free ski.

Oh that's a good point - I free ski at 32 but in the course at 28 still. Maybe with this additional information a 67" then?

Hey all, Many folks have recommended the Radar Strada as my next ski. I'm a noob (3 years of skiing) and have been skiing on the HO Comp Freeride series. I've outgrown that ski and need something that I can progress on. I'm still -15 @ 32 but looking to get better and cannot afford to upgrade skis every 2 years. There is a guy on SIA that has a 66" and a 67" Strada for sale. What's the concensus here? My weight straddles the two skis - I weight 163 lbs. Should I opt for the 67" with the speeds and lines I run now, or go smaller to the 66"?? At this point does it really even matter that much? Thanks all.

For things like this, the easiest way to see it is to explore the edges of logical extent: What I mean by that is, what if you shortened the rope (if you could) to the point you only had 6 feet of rope behind the boat. Just imagine trying to get around the buoys from side to side at that length. Of course this is hypothetical, but when you the shortening logic to the extreme it will immediately highlight the primary issues at play.

Hi everyone, I'm thinking about doing a big ski upgrade. I've been on an HO Comp/Freeride series for the past 2 years, and with good amount of water time and pushing it, I feel like I'm getting beyond this ski pretty quickly now. Just getting into the course. I can't afford to be upgrading a ski every 2 years, so I thought maybe I'd just step up and make the jump up to a used Radar Strada. I have grown to like my HO Venom bindings quite a lot, and I'd like to transfer them directly over to the Strada, should I get one. Would this work? Thanks!

Just went through this with my wife - tell her to push her hands down low, push chest out by pinching shoulder blades and bend the knees. Worked right away.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply to this. It is very helpful to me at this stage. I think it's clear to me one thing I should really focus on. I'm hoping to get many many hours behind the boat this year to get it right. I am going to really focus on getting my elbows into my vest and get that stack going. I don't know why I have such a tendency to roll my shoulders forward in the turn, which just sets up that horrid crunching forward position. I see what it "should" look like on video with good skiers. It's just getting ME to do it. ;) At the end of last year, my main target was trying to focus on staring down the pylon during wake crossing. I found that immensely helpful - I just need to work on getting that back - sort of lost the ability to do that over winter as I recently proved.... Maybe just more time on the ski is needed and it won't feel so foreign. It's funny how what seems so stupidly obvious and simple on land is so evasive when I'm at the end of the rope.

Hi everyone, I've been lurking here for ages - it's fascinating reading for me. Anyway, I'm a total rank beginner. I feel a bit awkward asking such beginner questions on here, because most of the skill level here is WAY out of my league. (There was a similar thread previous to this - but I thought I might ask a question with a different twist.) I started skiing about one year ago (turning 40 this year) - learned deep water starts and can now go back and forth behind the boat with my on side much much better than my offside. My on-side is still pretty bad as far as skiing technique goes. On my offside (I'm RFF), I feel really awkward turning and getting any kind of angle whatsoever. I'm skiing on a 67" HO Burner. I weight 160 lbs, 6' tall. So far, just free skiing. I have a personal goal to at least try the course by the end of the year. Even if I only get 1 or 2. I really really want to get better, and I'll work at it. So, here's my question: - (especially for those who may have coached real beginners) If you had to pick "that one thing" that you have experienced as a coach that helps a novice skier out the most at this stage, what would it be?? Thanks!

Well, I guess now is a really good time to join in this discussion group. I'm almost in the exact same situation as bxroads - I'm 39 this year (turning 40 in the fall) and just started slalom skiing relatively 'seriously' last year. Technically I started the year before that, but only had 3 runs in plus some learning to get up on a single ski. I've been lurking here for quite a while - I am reading this thread with great interest, because I'm doing many of the same old beginner mistakes. That being said, very late in the season last year, I had one of those "breakthroughs" for myself in getting in better position crossing the wakes (esp. offside). I was badly hunched over (going to the john style!) So, I discovered that if I stare down the pylon in the boat - somehow it really helped my own position (and confidence!) in the wake crossing. Sorry, I'm just a newb too, so I can't offer any advice other than moral support for a fellow slalom-learner! I'm interested in hearing about your progress this year. Keep at it!!!!